In Malawi, one of the poorest countries on the continent, at least 99 people died, the catastrophe agency reported.
After making a second landfall on Saturday night in Mozambique, causing 10 deaths, Freddy headed south of neighboring Malawi early Monday morning.
The Blantyre region, the economic capital, is the epicenter of the tragedy.
Relatives of victims search through the rubble
“We feel powerless and nobody helps us”he tells the news agency AFP John Witman, 80, in suburban Chilobwe, near Blantyre.
This old man is looking for his son-in-law, who disappeared in the collapse of his house after the sudden rise of the waters.
Most of the houses, made of earth and bricks, have not withstood the cyclone. The inhabitants are convinced that there are dozens of bodies under the mud, so the day before, families and rescuers searched with their hands among the rubble.